I have an L3 creobroter who is a quarter inch long and still a red color. My other one is L5, half inch long, and yellow. But I got the L5 when it was L3, and it was yellow then. How come the current L3 is red?
Creobroter
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Well I mean more like an orangeish color, the coloration hasn't changed since it was L1.
I know why it is still hatchling color, and the answer will shock you.
Be careful here, Alex.
If you have a theory as to why your L3 mantis is still "hatchling color", be sure you qualify your statement by expressing that it is only your opinion. If the reason is not a generally known or accepted viewpoint, and you do not have substantiated scientific proof, it is always best to include in your statement that it is your opinion or theory so as not to mislead others.By the way... I'm rarely shocked by anything these days.
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
+1Be careful here, Alex.
And I have been sitting anxiously in front of my computer for four hours, now, Alex. When are you going to drop this shocking revatation on us?
Alright. The other one was yellowish at L3, now it's L5. But I'm thinking the reason that my current L3 is still hatchling color is because.... It's a male! The other is a female. I don't think I can breed the 2 because my female is L5. That is what I think.
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
I'm not sure exactly what you mean here, Alex. Are you saying that males retain "more juvenile" colors longer than females or that the sexes are colored differently as nymphs, what is called "sexual dichromatism?" In neither case is it likely to be true but particularly so in the second case. Sexual dichromatism occurs only in adults, most frequently birds, who have good color vision. Color discrimination in mantids appears to be poorly understood. I tried the Prete book and a couple of fat texts on insect anatomy and physiology without getting anywhere, though its has been shown to exist in some nectar eating orders (flies, butterflies) and in predatory orders like dragonflies (where the adult sexes are often colored quite differently) and in wasps. Sexual attraction, one of the reasons for sexual dichromatism, appears to be by pheromone release, with the female broadcasting her presence and waiting passively (as with human females) for the male to arrive. The sensing of prey in mantids, another function of color discrimination in some insects, tends to be determined by movement of an object nearly close enough for the mantis to grasp.
On the brighter side, you presented a guess as a guess, not a "fact" or a "theory," something that many adults (including me!) sometimes forget to do, and since males tend to take less time to pass through the larval stages than their female siblings, you might well be able to mate your pair.
mantidian
Well-known member
I don't think thats the answer...are you sure it is L3? cos it's size and colour seems to tell me its L1/2. 1/4 of an inch is rather small!
I doubt your theory is correct also, but that is just my opinion.
I think it might just be a variation of color in individuals... the natural occurence of different color morphs in some species.But great big kudos to you for stating your opinion as your own theory, rather than stating it as a fact! Great job!!! I'm proud of you.
It is at least L3, I got it and it was hatchling color, and it has molted 2 times.
He just became L4 and is still reddish.
idolomantis
Well-known member
Don't worry about it man, as long as does function the right way it is fine no matter what the color is
but it's not normal
jacksun
Well-known member
Well, sometimes nature throws curves at you, and the "not normal" is one of those. For example, white buffalo, albino bears, and many other "abnormal" instances in nature. Adaptation, evolution, genetic anomaly just to name a few. Who knows, maybe you are witnessing an adaptation of this species for a specific environment that it has only been in for a short period of time (read as decades/centuries) that requires the retention of a certain color for survival unlike its brothers in another location in the world where the initial adaptation occurred.
How do you know what is positively "normal?" Have you reared a relatively large number of these to have experience and knowledge on which to credibly base your statement?
oh, I have a male who is the reddish color, and my female is the yellowish color. They are both nmphs.
